PROGRESS

05.01.1310:16 AM ET

Ireland Proposes Allowing Some Abortions

In limited circumstances.

Ireland’s government has proposed legislation to permit abortion in limited circumstances, including when a pregnant woman is at risk of committing suicide. The attempt to modify the country’s total abortion ban comes in the wake of the death last year of Savita Halappanavar, who was refused a termination even though her doomed pregnancy was clearly endangering her life. Under the new law, two doctors must agree that a woman’s life is in jeapordy before an abortion can be performed, and in cases where suicide is a factor, three doctors must sign off. For the most part, though, abortion will remain strictly limited. “Any person found guilty of acting to cause an abortion outside of the parameters in the proposals may face a 14-year prison sentence under the plan, including the woman concerned,” Bloomberg reports.